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Short and sweet

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 25 / 27
Date: October 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was really excited to learn that Katamari was coming to the 360. I thought we would be able to roll the biggest Katamari ever at lightning fast speeds, have 3 times as many areas to explore, a killer new soundtrack and tons of online playability. Unfortunately, Katamari fails to deliver on several of these expectations.

First, this game, like the other Katamari games: Katamari Damacy, We Love Katamari and Me and My Katamari, is a BLAST to play. For those who don't know, you play as the Prince of the Cosmos who has been sent by the King of the Cosmos to use a sticky ball known as a Katamari, to roll up items in the world to create stars, satellites and planets to re-populate the solar system after the King has done something to mess up the galaxy (always something funny). The Katamari starts out small and at first you can only roll up small objects, but as the game progress you'll be able to roll up people, cars, buildings and even landmasses (and much later... entire planets!). This kind of unique gameplay is addictive and fun to say the least. Here's where the game falls short...

I defeated the game in a day and a half (that includes obtaining the online achievements). The game is very short compared to other Katamari releases. Also, you end up re-visiting several maps that are being passed off as new levels simply because they have a few different items in them. With the 360's power, I really expected there to be tons of levels and none that repeated themselves, which isn't the case here.

The sound was a let down also. Most of the sounds are recycled from old Katamari games and the soundtrack is the weakest in the series. The Katamari games are none for their killer soundtracks: Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy, but there are only 2 or 3 good songs that stand out. They even seemed to run out of new songs worthy of the game, because you'll also hear cuts from "We Love Katamari".

The online portion of the game is the biggest letdown. You can play thru all 5 levels in under 20 minutes and the object of each stage is to collect as many of a specific item as possible before the game ends. Online opponents can run into each other, knocking their foes items off their Katamari, but all this gets boring and repetative... after you play all the stages. I was really hoping for an online competition, where cousins could compete to roll the biggest Katamari for the King in either an online version of the one player game, or a specific game for xbox live, but it didn't happen.

With that said, there is a lot to praise. The game looks amazing in HD. I disagree with some gaming critics who think the graphics should have been redone to take advantage of the 360's power, but to me, if you change the look...it's not Katamari. In this version, the items and characters pop with a vibrant colorfully clarity you don't get in previous games. I also got one of my wishes for the game, you will be able to roll the biggest Katamaris ever! I wont give anything away, but the last stage is absolutely amazing. The replay value is very high with the game too. To trully beat a stage, you need to find all the cousins and presents and be awarded 100 points by the King. Obtaining 100 points on a stage, will unlock an infinite mode, that lets you play that stage without being timed! Just press "X" to quit. This is a great way to locate presents and cousins you may have missed, as well as plot a strategy to grow your Katamari at a faster rate, when it does matter.

Overall, I'm pleased with the purchase. Die-hard fans of the series will love this version of Katamari, but I think you'll feel like the game could've been so much more.

Very Disappointed

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: November 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm very disappointed in the new Katamari game! One of the things I really enjoyed about previous installments was the variety of challenges, but so far all of the levels fit the profile of make a katamari of x size in y amount of time. There are "fast as you can" type challenges, but they're only for online rankings, not for level completion. Not having a variety of challenges means that if you aren't good at one kind, the game isn't going to be much fun.

Price Makes it Worth a Purchase if You are a Katamari Fan

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I love the other Katamari games but I found this one a bit of a disappointment. The graphics are exactly the same as the other games in the series even though this game is on a new system and the stages look very similiar. Speaking of the stages, however, they may look similiar but there seemed to be a lot less that was interesting and funny to roll up.

The game was fun to play because the controls were quite simple to use, but the game is quite short and does not contain anything new. It is pretty cheap so if you like the Katamari games this is probably worth a purchase. If you are new to the series of games and have one of the other systems I'd think about getting one of the other games as you will probably get a longer game play out of them.

(A Little) more Katamari Fun!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you've enjoyed either of the previous Katamari games,you're going to love this one. Pretty much the same deal - start as a tiny little ball boy, and roll stuff up until you can roll up the world - then the solar system. Nice to see it on the Xbox 360, but it's still pretty much the same game.
Unfortunately, the ambient sounds have been almost all cut/removed (remember the bike guy yelling "Nanananana" as you rolled him up?)
The biggest issue I have with this is that it's so short. When I can finish the game in one evening after work, I begin to wonder if its worth buying - no matter how much fun it is. They also didn't change the existing maps much.
Overall - it's worth the money if you're a Katamari fan, but probably won't be worth going out of your way for.

Looks great, plays great.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: October 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

A big fan of the old katamari games, I was shocked when I heard that the new one was coming out on Xbox 360, not PS3. (Which is great, since I don't have a PS#). The game takes advantage of the 360 in so many ways though - Xbox Live, Xbox Marketplace, achievements, and more. It looks great in HD, and is a great game so far offline and online.

Great game, but it is over quick.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

We knew for months before the release that there were levels designed for download. They are available in Japan now. Should be in America soon.
There are 4 dlc (downloadable content) levels from the start and are 2 dollars each I believe. A possible 7 total levels may come soon from what Japanese sites are saying.
Xbox.com has a list of the levels, what they consist of, and what their cost is. The date is still unknown.

I liked the soundtrack to this game a lot! There are several repeated songs (none of which are fun) from the previous games, but personally I love 5 of the new songs!

This game is indeed short! I beat the entire game (no online play) in one sitting on day one, and had all offline achievements (other than a couple like 50 hours of play, and 100% collection) within 3 days.

I do not like the scoring system at all! It was introduced in Me and My Katamari for the PSP. I do however LOVE to roll big katamaris!
This game allows for insanely huge katamaris on two levels as well. Level 12 (Shloss Kosmos) is probably the best katamari level in any of the games. Your goal is to roll a 10,000 km katamari to close the black hole. In the end, one can roll over 1.4 million km katamaris! It is so much fun and should be tried by any fan of the previous games.

It is sold for a bargin price, and worth more than that. Provided you are aware that a good gamer can finish it all up in a few days, I rec' this game.

great game, fun and simple

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I had tried We Love Katamari at a friends house on PS2 quite a long time ago and loved the idea of the katamari rolling up items, people, houses, and landmasses. It was something that I had never seen before and I couldn't get enough of it. When I found Beautiful Katamari for the XBox 360, I went right out and bought it. The game is fun and can be challenging if you don't roll up enough items that the king wants into your katamari, so you might have to try some levels several times before you get it just right. I'm not trying to compare this game to We Love Katamari, so I am very pleased with the gameplay. In response to M. Thomas, who said that there was a lot of annoying dialogue that you can't skip, you CAN skip those long dialogue sequences by simply pressing the "Start" button a couple of times to get through it. The king of the cosmos does talk a lot, but use your start button and you'll be just fine. Great price for a great 360 game that kids and adults can easily play. Controlling the katamari can be tricky, but you just have to practice. There is an "Egg School" that serves as a tutorial/practice mode where you can practice moving your katamari around and using different movement sequences to move more quickly and easily.

Impressed

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Beautiful Katamari is a very interesting game. The main concept of the game is that you roll up stuff in a Katamari (literally translates to bundle of stuff). Each level you roll things up to make a planet, Star, or a whale? It has some great aspects about it and some which are not so great.

Good:

First off Ill go into the positive pieces of the game. The gameplay is very abstract which is what makes it so interesting. Although many people might say that the random music and themes deems it a senseless game for kids, I argue that it really depends on your style of gaming whether you will get into this game or not. Me and some of my college friends really get into the coop of this game because how chaotic it can get. If you like games that make sense, but lack a logical concept, you will enjoy this game.

The levels are interesting. One of the reasons I could play this game excessively without getting bored was due to the levels and there transitions. One minute you will be rolling up candy in a candy store, the next minute you will have so much stuff rolled up in your Katamari, that you can roll up the earth.

If you are an achievement freak, like myself, this game will offer you fun game play and 1250 achievements. Note: take a look at my last bad aspect of the game.

The music is so catchy. You will probably find yourself humming it to yourself when you least expect it.

Bad:

The controls. This can be a double edged sword. I personally like them. They remind me of the old mech arcade games. Right stick forward Left stick backward makes you turn Left, Right stick backward Left stick forward makes you turn right, Both sticks forward is forward, etc. It was a very familiar concept for me. On the other hand people who are not use to these controls, I noticed they take a while to grasp the concept and become better at playing the game. If you are open to learning a new control style if you aren't already familiar with this one, you will learn pretty quick.

The graphics are so so. Nothing fancy but very crisp.

You have to pay for the expansion levels. I am pretty sure that it is impossible to get all the achievements without buying them.

Fairly short game. I beat it in a day. Probably could have 100% complete in a day if I had worked for it.

Not As Good As Previous Installments

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 23, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game having played and completed the first Katamari game on PS2 and now with the 360 version, I was hoping to get more of the same enjoyment but with new mini-games and other innovations from the first installment. Boy was I wrong. The first Katamari game for the PS2 version was much better. There are good things about this game for those not famaliar with Katamari but if you've played the previous installments you may want to save your money. The controls for one are not as user friendly.

Not as Good as Previous Katamaris

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've played the first two Katamari games extensively on the PS2, and this one just doesn't meet the same standards. The first katamari game was really fun and had about 20 different levels. The sequel, We Love Katamari, was great because it had lots of new types of levels with different scenery and concepts (underwater, at night, in the snow, etc.). This game, not only doesn't have many new concepts, it doesn't have many levels/places to roll. I finished it in about 6 hours and was pretty amazed that it was over so soon. In its favor, the music is good, there are a few decent levels, and the graphics are improved due to the Xbox 360 platform. Overall though, it's a disappointment.

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